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Rehabilitation aus Sicht des MDK

As a result of progress in medical treatment and changes in lifestyle in the last century, the focus of health care has shifted from acute to chronic disease, from cause to impact. Rehabilitation is a specific form of treatment which focuses on long term effects of diseases and the prevention or reduction of disability and thus has gained more and more importance in modern health care. The concept of rehabilitation and its terminology is based on the “bio-psycho-social model of disease” and the corresponding classification, the ICF (International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health). The main feature of rehabilitation is interdisciplinary teamwork, aiming to achieve or at least improve the reintegration of patients into their social and vocational environments.
If a patient or his attending physician think rehabilitation is necessary, a counselling talk takes place and the insurance company verifies that the legal conditions for treatment at a rehabilitation centre are fulfilled. If the medical and logistic requirements are fulfilled, rehabilitation can be prescribed by a SHI (statutory health insurance)-authorised physician. If the work incapacity of an employee is diagnosed by a occupational physician and he considers rehabilitation necessary, he can encourage the employee to apply for such treatment and support the application with medical findings and a statement. After rehabilitation, the occupational physician plays an important role in shortening the time before resumption of work by the employee.
The role of the Medical Advisers of the Health Insurance Companies (MDK = Medizinischer Dienst der Krankenkassen), an independent sociomedical council of experts, is to re-examine medial prescriptions and, if necessary, suggest alternative treatments.